Paperwork is part of the application process with Keep Your Home California.

Nothing really new to you here — many of the documents that were necessary when you applied for a mortgage are also required for Keep Your Home California. But our application process may make homeowners eligible for much-needed financial assistance to ease their mortgage problems.

Instead of spending thousands of dollars when obtaining a mortgage –– for closing costs, down payment and escrowed funds — the Keep Your Home California application process is free.

On top of that, the federally funded, state-managed program is actually helping you save your home – along with your commitment, your effort and the money you have invested in your home. Plus, you don’t have to move and, for some people, that is priceless.

Certain documents are needed to determine a homeowner’s eligibility for Keep Your Home California assistance. Documentation of eligibility is required before assistance may be provided, in order to safeguard this taxpayer-funded program.

The following are the most frequently required documents needed to apply for Keep Your Home California:

Pay stubs

EDD pay stub, if applying for the Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program

A copy of a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreement (if applying for the Transition Assistance Program)

Now, each homeowner – and their situation – is different, so additional documents may be needed to verify eligibility for assistance.

It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of documentation in the Keep Your Home California application process. The reasons why homeowners need the mortgage assistance in the first place are revealed through the documents they provide.

Also, documents are vital to a homeowner’s eligibility determination. In fact, an application for assistance is not complete until all required documents have been provided. The documents are the key to unlocking the door to assistance from Keep Your Home California, which must meet federal requirements to safeguard this taxpayer-funded program.

There are three unique Keep Your Home California programs designed to help homeowners remain in their homes:

The Principal Reduction Program offers as much as $100,000 to reduce the homeowner’s outstanding first mortgage balance and often lowers their monthly mortgage payment. The program helps homeowners dealing with unaffordable and/or underwater mortgages, where the amount owed exceeds the current value of the home.

As mentioned above, homeowners must have endured or still be suffering from a financial hardship, such as a job loss, cut in pay, divorce, death in the family, extraordinary medical bills or other financial challenges in order to qualify. Keep Your Home California representatives will help determine whether your hardship qualifies for the program.

Homeowners interested in learning more or applying for the program should call the counseling center at 888-954-5337 or find more information at www.KeepYourHomeCalifornia.org or at www.ConservaTuCasaCalifornia.org for Spanish speakers. The counseling center is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Calls can be taken in virtually any language through a free translation service.

Photo courtesy of the artists of Unsplash.

Keep Your Home California

Keep Your Home California is a $2 billion federal program run by the state, focused on helping low and moderate income families avoid foreclosure, stay in their homes, and maintain an affordable mortgage payment for long-term homeownership.